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THE uniform is ironed, the lunch is packed and the books are loaded into the backpacks of children across the Coast as they head back to school today.

But this is no ordinary year for Liam Heidrich.

The 11-year-old will be one of the first Year 7 students on the Coast to officially be classed as a high school student as Meridan State College and Nambour State High School participate in a pilot program with 17 other schools across the state.

Liam, a Meridan State College foundation student, said he was excited and nervous.

His mum, Kim shared those emotions. "I always knew it would come, but it came around too quickly," she said.

"It will be great for them to get to do more career-based subjects and have access to more equipment for their studies."

Although Year 7 students will set foot for the first time on the Nambour campus, it is not a new scenario for the 176 Meridan students.

The college has had three separate subschools, including a junior secondary school which covers Years 7 to 9, since 2008.

College director Julie Kornmann said the junior secondary school already had its own precinct, identity, uniform and leadership structure, making the transition almost unnoticeable.

Ms Kornmann said the Year 7 students participated in a day-long orientation program at the end of their primary school year. "From experience we know that this is a very positive move for Year 7 students as the philosophy and practices of junior secondary are tailored to meet their needs," she said.

"This move also aligns Queensland with the other states in Australia, which is even more important with the introduction of the new Australian Curriculum."

More than 2300 Queensland students will make the early start to high school this year.